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Ten Abominations
The Ten Abominations (十惡) were a list of offenses under traditional Chinese law which were regarded as the most abhorrent, and which threatened the well-being of civilized society. They are listed below. The first three were capital offences: # Plotting rebellion (謀反): to overthrow the current regime. The commentary states: "The ruler or parent has no harbours rom plots If he does have such plots, he must put them to death." This means that if one harbours rebellious thoughts against the ruler or father, he must then put them to death. # Plotting great sedition (謀大逆): to damage or destroy royal temples, tumuli, or palaces. The ancient Chinese belief in '' feng shui'' equated intentional damaging of royal property with casting a curse on the sovereign. This type of person breaks laws and destroys order and goes contrary to virtue. # Plotting treason (謀叛): to defect to an enemy state, usually carrying national secrets. # Parricide (惡逆): to harm or murder one's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offence (law)
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane and Conoghan (editors), ''The New Oxford Companion to Law'', Oxford University Press, 2008 (), p. 263Google Books). though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence (or criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community, society, or the state ("a public wrong"). Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law. The notion that acts such as murder, rape, and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide. What precisely is a criminal offence is defined by the criminal law of each r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lèse-majesté
Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, where it means "a crime against The Crown." This behaviour was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman Republic of ancient Rome. In the Dominate, or Late Empire period, the emperors eliminated the republican trappings of their predecessors and began to equate the state with themselves. Although legally the ''princeps civitatis'' (his official title, meaning, roughly, 'first citizen') could never become a sovereign because the republic was never officially abolished, emperors were deified as divus, first posthumously but by the Dominate period while reigning. Deified emperors enjoyed the same legal protection that was accorded to the divinities of the state cult; by the time it was replaced by Christianity, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eight Deliberations
Eight Deliberations (), also translated as Eight Considerations, Eight Discussions, Eight Discussed Cases or Eight Precedents, was a set of principles used by traditional Chinese law in order to lessen legal punishment on the royals, nobles and members of upper classes. Origins The Eight Deliberations were established by the Cao Wei dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period and originated from similar regulations in the ''Rites of Zhou''. These suggested that criminals qualified under the following eight conditions could be considered for a commutation of sentence: *Relatives of the sovereign *Old acquaintances of the sovereign *Individuals of great virtue *Individuals of great ability *Meritorious individuals *High officials *Individuals exceptionally zealous at their government duties *Guests of the sovereign (i.e. the descendants of preceding imperial families) Eight Deliberations as a Legal Privilege The earliest records of the whole set of Eight Deliberations existin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han Chinese, Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump state, rump regimes ruled by remnants of the House of Zhu, Ming imperial family—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662. The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the naval history of China, navy's dockyards in Nanjin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concubinage
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubinage was a formal and institutionalized practice in China until the 20th century that upheld concubines' rights and obligations. A concubine could be freeborn or of slave origin, and their experience could vary tremendously according to their masters' whim. During the Mongol conquests, both foreign royals and captured women were taken as concubines. Concubinage was also common in Meiji Japan as a status symbol, and in Indian society, where the intermingling of castes and religions was frowned upon and a taboo, and concubinage could be practiced with women with whom marriage was considered undesirable, such as those from a lower caste and Muslim women who wouldn't be accepted in a Hindu household and Hindu women who wouldn't be accepted in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wife
A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as a widow. The rights and obligations of a wife in relation to her partner and her status in the community and in law vary between cultures and have varied over time. Etymology The word is of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *''wībam'', "woman". In Middle English it had the form ''wif'', and in Old English ''wīf'', "woman or wife". It is related to Modern German language, German ''Weib'' (woman, female), and Danish language, Danish ''viv'' (wife, usually poetic); The original meaning of the phrase "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage or a husband/wife, is preserved in words such as "midwife", "goodwife", "fishmonger, fishwife" and "Fortune-telling, spaewife". Summary In many cultures, marriage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption, or lineage. It is strictly forbidden and considered immoral in most societies, and can lead to an increased risk of genetic disorders in children. The incest taboo is one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos, both in present and in past societies. Most modern societies have laws regarding incest or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages. In societies where it is illegal, consensual adult incest is seen by some as a victimless crime. Some cultures extend the incest taboo to relatives with no consanguinity such as milk-siblings, step-siblings, and adoptive siblings, albeit sometimes with less intensity. Third-degree relatives (such as half-aunt, half-nephew, first cousin) on average have 12.5% common genetic heri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petty Treason
Petty treason or petit treason was an offence under the common law of England in which a person killed or otherwise violated the authority of a social superior, other than the king. In England and Wales, petty treason ceased to be a distinct offence from murder by virtue of the Offences against the Person Act 1828. It was abolished in Ireland in 1829. It never existed in Scotland. It has also been abolished in other common-law countries. Element of betrayal The element of betrayal is the reason why this crime was considered worse than an ordinary murder; medieval and post-medieval society rested on a framework in which each person had his or her appointed place and such murders were seen as threatening this framework. Many people had somebody subordinate to them and feared the consequences if the murder of superiors was not punished harshly. Codification in English law The common law offence was codified in the Treason Act 1351. Under that Act, petty treason was an aggravated for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Righteousness
Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with "rightness" or being "upright". It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theological concept. For example, from various perspectives in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism it is considered an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" or "reckoned" as leading a life that is pleasing to God. William Tyndale (Bible translator into English in 1526) remodelled the word after an earlier word ''rihtwis'', which would have yielded modern English *''rightwise'' or *''rightways''. He used it to translate the Hebrew root צדק '' tzedek'', which appears over five hundred times in the Hebrew Bible, and the Greek word (''dikaios''), which appears more than two hundred times in the New Testament. Etymologically, it comes from Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filial Piety
In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late Warring States-Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety. The book—a purported dialogue between Confucius and his student Zengzi—is about how to set up a good society using the principle of filial piety. Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics. In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct, not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, and support; to display courtesy; to ensure male heirs; to uphold fraternity among brothers; to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gu (poison)
Gu () or jincan () was a venom-based poison associated with cultures of south China, particularly Nanyue. The traditional preparation of ''gu'' poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held the complex poison. ''Gu'' was used in black magic practices such as manipulating sexual partners, creating malignant diseases, and causing death. According to Chinese folklore, a ''gu'' spirit could transform into various animals, typically a worm, caterpillar, snake, frog, dog, or pig. Names Circa 14th-century BCE Shang Dynasty oracle inscriptions recorded the name ''gu'', while 7th-century CE Tang Dynasty texts first used ''jincan'' "gold silkworm". ''Gu'' The term ''gu'' , says Loewe, "can be traced from the oracle bones until modern times, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Chinese Law
Traditional Chinese law refers to the laws, regulations, and rules used in China up to 1911, when the last imperial dynasty fell. It has undergone continuous development since at least the 11th century BCE. This legal tradition is distinct from the common law and civil law traditions of the West – as well as Islamic law and classical Hindu law – and to a great extent, is contrary to the concepts of contemporary Chinese law. It incorporates elements of both Legalist and Confucian traditions of social order and governance. One feature of the traditional Chinese criminal procedure is that it was an inquisitorial system where the judge, usually the district magistrate, conducts the public investigation of a crime. This is comparable to the system used in civil law jurisdictions, but contrary to common law which uses an adversarial system where the judge decides between attorneys representing the prosecution and defense. "The Chinese traditionally despised the role of advocate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
